I remember having to watch Saturday night wrestling, hosting by Pie Traynor (who can? American) every saturday after the Lawrence Welk Show.
RIP Bruno Sammartino, at age 82
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Pretended to be Bruno as a kid while launching myself off the top of the sofa. He was a legend to to all of my grade school pals.
Studio Wrestling was hosted by Bill Cardille. Pie Traynor, as you suggested, did live commercials for American Heating during the broadcast.
Always wondered who'd win a match between Ringside Rosie and Izzie Moidel.
I went to grade school with his niece and nephew for a couple years before they moved away. That was my first brush with near celebrity.
I had the good fortune to sit next to him on a flight from Denver to Pittsburgh. We talked the whole way. Man, he was just a really nice guy
I remember Bill Cardille said that Bruno Sammartino sold out Madison Square Garden more than any other individual.
My dad loved Bruno Sammartino. He was a hero to so many European immigrants to this country.
My dad loved Bruno Sammartino. He was a hero to so many European immigrants to this country.
Pretty nice writeup in wiki.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Wrestling
At one time, this show was considered one of the top wrestling shows in the United States. Even though the show started on Saturdays at 6 p.m., the lines started to form around the TV station at noon. The show was so popular that it revived the dying Pittsburgh wrestling market.
Promoter Joseph "Toots" Mondt went from promoting shows at a tiny North Side venue called "The Islam Grotto" to packing in tens of thousands of fans to outdoor shows at Forbes Field. In 1961, Mondt began using the newly built Pittsburgh Civic Arena to run indoor shows on a monthly basis. Even the referees such as Paddy Grimes, Izzy Moidel (who claimed to have once beat Rocky Marciano in an amateur boxing match), and Andy DePaul became local celebrities because of the show's huge audience. An elderly lady named Anna Buckalew, popularly known as Ringside Rosie, who always sat in the front row every Saturday, became well known. Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Pie Traynor later became part of the show as a commercial spokesman for the American Heating Company. His tag line was, "Who can? Ameri-CAN!!!"[1]
lol, now that brings back memories. However, I was generally Dick "The Bulldog" Brower when launching from assorted pieced of furniture, when "wrestling" with my friends.
My cousin from Johnstown was a big fan growing up and worked at the War Memorial and got to know a lot of the old time wrestlers, He and Brunno became good friends a few years ago and my cousin took him to his hometown in Italy where they had constructed a monument of Bruno just a couple years ago. Glad they got to go on that trip.
Weird. Without knowing of the great man's passing, this morning I thought back to the time I almost dislocated my sister's elbow doing a wrasslin' move.
thanks....wow, from the article:
"In 1957, sportscaster Bob Prince asked him to show some lifting techniques on air. A wrestling promoter saw him, and Sammartino's wrestling career was born.
In his prime, Sammartino weighed 270 pounds and bench-pressed 565 pounds. At a gym in New York, he wowed onlookers by benching 338 pounds an astonishing 38 times in a row. In the ring, he famously lifted an opponent named Haystacks Calhoun -- who weighed 640 pounds -- above his head before dropping him to the mat in 1960."
I lived in Ross Township for a few years in the mid-70s...Bruno would go jogging through the neighborhood often. He was one of the three sports personalities living in the neighborhood - along with Dwight White and Doc Medich. Was pretty cool to me at the age of 12 or 13.
Uh, no. Billed at 5'10" but that was a crock of shit like ll of the other wrestling billings. I stood next to Bruno more times than I can remember and he wasn't close to that height.
Due respect to Bruno, but could not help that this scene came to mind upon seeing this photo:
No, I saw lots of Bruno and he was never an acrobatic jumper. He was a pure muscle man.
Ah yes, Chilly Billy Cardille. Also remember him for Chiller theater every Saturday Night, (or was it Friday night?)
Pittsburgh has been blessed with many great sports legends, but no list would be complete without the name of Bruno Sammartino. He was a decent, humble man who never put himself above his fans. May he Rest in Peace.
I'll still go with Crusher Lisowski. He claimed the girls in Pittsburgh had the nicest legs because of all of the hills.
Professor Tanaka! Also want the a guy named crazy bill steel and a Batman? Maybe crazy Luke?
Only in Western PA could a fvcktard like that be elected to county gummint! Oh, wait...........
The Crusher was a classic. One of the more memorable episodes of Studio Wrestling had Cardille interviewing him during opne of his many feuds with the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers (Flair is nothing more than a weak imitation).The Crusher was getting more worked up and animated than usual. In those days of G-rated TV, all he could say was how mad Rogers made him. So he huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed, louder each time telling the audience how Rogers was making him "so mad." And there is Cardille insouciantly asking him "How mad?" And The Crusher screams "How mad? You wanna know how mad?" Cardille, bemused, nods."I'll tell you how mad! I'm so mad...I'm so mad...." The Crusher struggles to find words. " I'm so mad that I could eat this microphone." At which point he grabs the mike from Cardille and begins gnawing at it.
It was a more innocent time and you had to be there.
he was the little, fast guy that always got beat, right? I always felt for him...like the Washington Generals. I also recall a tag team that were brothers or cousins.
